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Library Hours:
Monday-Thursday	7:00-5:00
Friday	7:00-2:30

Library Phone:

(310) 440-3500

ext 3304 or ext 3317

To search the Smith Family Library's catalog, click here, and then select "set locations". After that, deselect all boxes except MCHS. Then press save.

Access the Play Database using FileMaker Pro, and search through hundreds of plays available in the MCHS library.

The purpose of this pathfinder is to provide you with an overview of the variety of sources pertaining to the Theater Arts available to you. Some of the materials are books or audiovisual materials, in which case they are located in the SMITH FAMILY Library.

References are also made to magazine indexes and selected Internet sites. If you would like assistance using these resources, please ask one of the librarians for assistance.

Finding Books and Audiovisual Materials in the Smith Family Library

The online public access catalog (OPAC) provides a listing of all books (both circulating and reference) and audiovisual materials owned by the Smith Family Library. When you search by subject, title or keyword, don’t forget to include both spellings of the word for theatre (theater).

If you need more help thinking of related subjects, consult Library of Congress Subject Headings, the red books that are in the Library office, or ask one of the librarians.

The following is a suggested list of subject headings pertaining to theatre/drama. You may perform a “subject search” in the Spectrum (Winnebago) online catalog using any of these subject headings. To perform the search automatically, simply click on the heading in the list below.

To search for a specific play, do a “title” search on the name of the play. If not found, try a “keyword” search. This will search the tables of contents of books containing plays.

To search for books about a particular play, author, or actor, type in the name of the play or person in a "subject" search.

To search the Smith Family Library's catalog, click here, and then select "set locations". After that, deselect all boxes except MCHS. Then press save.

Reference Collection

• Whalon, Marion K.
  Performing Arts Research; A Guide to Information Sources.
  An annotated guide to performing arts resource materials. (REF 016.7902 PER)
• The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre.
  Includes entries for theatres, actors, theatre terminology and playwrights. (REF 792.03 CON)
• The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre.
  Includes entries for theatres, actors, theatre terminology and playwrights. (REF 792.03 CON)
• Regional Theatre Directory, 2003-2004
  Directory type information to America 's regional theatre. Provides brief background data on the theatres, and employment and internship information for students and job seekers. (REF 792 REG)
• Who Was Who in the Theatre
  Contains information on actors, producers, composers, managers, critics, and others associated with the theater. (REF 927.92 WHO)
• Contemporary authors: a bio-bibliographical guide to current writers in fiction, general nonfiction, poetry, journalism, drama, motion pictures, television and other fields. (REF 920.03 CON)
• Drama for students: presenting analysis, content and criticism on commonly studied dramas. (REF 809.2 DRA)
• Monologues: Collections of monologues can be located by doing a subject search in the online catalog using the term "monologue." Most of these will be located in 808.82 both in the reference area and in the stack location. (REF 809.2 DRA)

Finding Articles and Reviews with Smith Family Library Databases

Visit the library's Searchable Databases page for several useful resources, such as Proquest, and LexisNexis, a full-text database that contains newspaper articles from all over the world -- it's a great place to find theater reviews in newspapers.

The Gale Literary Index is also a very useful resource.

Contemporary Literary Criticism is a database at Gale that offers full-text literary criticism on authors who are still living or who died after December 31, 1999. Type in the name of a play or a playwright to find criticism.

Contemporary Authors provides full-text biographical sketches on authors and playwrights.

Theatre Periodicals in the Smith Family Library

Periodicals:

• American Theatre
• Entertainment Weekly

Internet Sites:

• MCHS Theatre Arts Resource Page
• The Costume Site has online costuming sources for historical, science fiction and fantasy costumers.
• ELAC Theatrepedia is a searchable database from East Los Angeles College Theatre Arts Department.
• The International Theatre Design Archive is "A venture of the United States Institute for Theatre Technology whose mission is to actively promote the advancement of knowledge and skills in all aspects of design and production in the performing arts." Includes designs for scenery, costumes and lighting.
• Internet Broadway Database is a comprehensive resource on Broadway productions, organizations, and people, past and present.
• McCoys Guide to Theatre is a brief guide to Internet resources in theatre and performance studies.
• Playbill has links to theatre news, tickets, job listings, awards, etc.
• The WWW Virtual Library of Theatre and Drama
• Inter-Play is an online index to plays in collections, anthologies and periodicals.
• Musicals.net has information on major musicals including songlists, snyopsis, bios, etc.
• Inter-Play is an online index to plays in collections, anthologies and periodicals.
• Edta.org has links to theare Companies in and around Los Angeles.
• Drew Script-o-rama has TV/Film scripts.
• Theatre Crafts is a glossary of Technical theatre terms.
• A Guide to Shakespeare on the Internet
• Playdatabase.com
• Playscripts.com's Find-a-play/

Esther and Sol Smith Family Library
Milken Community High School
15800 Mulholland Drive
Los Angeles, CA 90049
(310) 440-3500     (310) 440-5139 fax